Gerry Fitt

Gerry Fitt (9 April 1926-26 August 2005) was a British MP for West Belfast from 31 March 1966 to 13 May 1983 (succeeding James Kilfedder and preceding Gerry Adams) and leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party from 1970 to 1979, preceding John Hume.

Biography
Gerry Fitt was born in Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland in 1925, and he worked in a barber's shop before serving in the British merchant navy from 1941 to 1953. He was elected as a Republican Labor Party MP for West Belfast in 1966, and he brought the plight of Catholics in Northern Ireland to the notice of many in the House of Commons. In 1970, he became the first leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP). He consistently opposed the IRA, and usually supported the Labor Party in the Commons. He resigned as SDLP leader in 1979, claiming that he was more of a socialist than a nationalist. He stood as an independent socialist in 1983, but lost his seat to Gerry Adams. He entered the House of Lords in that same year, and he died in 2005.